County judge bans cellphones in courtrooms

June 15, 2011

By

Tedd Lutz, Republican staff

SMETHPORT â The use of cellphones in courtrooms has been banned for several years.
Now itâs illegal to even possess a cellphone in a McKean County court facility.
President County Judge John Pavlock has issued an order against âthe use and possession of any electronic devicesâ in any county courtroom.
In addition to cellphones, the banned devices include video cameras, camera phones and personal data assistants (PDAs).
According to the judgeâs order, the county security staff and the McKean County Sheriffâs Department is responsible for âenforcement of this policy.â
As a courtesy, the security officers will provide a âlockboxâ for storing cell phones and electronic devices while individuals are in court. The county is not responsible for the damage or loss of devices left in the âlockbox,â the judge said in his order.
In a memo that accompanied his order, Pavlock pointed out that the county court has had ânumerous issues with individuals inadvertently forgetting to turn off their phones and having them ringâor blare out an old AC-DC or rock tuneâ during court sessions.
Pavlock also said he is â100 percent certainâ that he has âwitnessed individuals sneak off a text message or âtweet' on their cellphones in the courtroom.
âI could and would continue to just put up with these disruptions and hand out a few sanctions every now and then to discourage them,â Pavlock said in his memo. But the judge believes there is âmore at stake here than mere annoyance.â
âTherefore, I have decided to completely ban the possession of cell phones and other electronic devices in the courtroom,â he said.
A report that also accompanies Pavlockâs ruling points out that some jurors in U.S. courtrooms have used cell phones to âobtain additional informationâ on the cases before them.